Tracy Payne

Sacred Yang

This catalogue accompanies Tracy Payne's third exhibition at the gallery. In Payne's early work she expressed the domination of yang over yin, and subsequent bodies of work have been concerned with bringing these energies into balance. Following her exhibition Sacred Yin (2005), Payne's mind turned to the notion of sacred yang after encountering the actions of China's Shaolin monks. Her portraits, in oils, Chinese and Japanese ink and watercolours, mostly exist in the space of meditation just prior to action, while others explore a range of emotions from inward serenity through to an outward expression of power.